Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on January 07, 2007 by CyberNet.

Tracking Down Great Software For You!

On our site we have been using FastStone Capture for quite awhile, and it would be hard to create the quality screenshots without it. We last featured this software in our article comparing the different freeware screenshot applications, and of the ones mentioned this was no doubt our favorite. It has all of the typical features you would expect from a screenshot program, and has gotten even better with the new version 5.1 that was just released a few days ago:

It allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions and scrolling windows/web pages. It has innovative features such as a floating Capture Panel, hotkeys, resizing, cropping, text annotation, printing, e-mailing, screen magnifier and many more.

It is actually insane the number of things that the software can do. In some of our recent posts I have been including thumbnails that have captions to them (the screenshots in this post also have captions). It makes it easier for users to identify what is going on in the screenshot without having to read through the post and look for references…and when it comes to thumbnails captions are priceless. They allow the user to know what the thumbnail contains before they even click on it. So how much of a pain is it to add these captions? They take about 5 extra seconds after you have configured them to your liking. You can choose whether the text is added to the top or bottom, a border can be added, the font can be changed, and there are several other options that you can tweak to make it look exactly how you want. There isn’t an actual thumbnail tool for making the small images, but there is a resize button that can get the job done just as fast.

There are some nice commercial screenshot applications like SnagIt, but we have tried most of them before and we still keep coming back to FastStone. The editor in SnagIt is a little more powerful, but the ease-of-use and customizability that FastStone offers meets our needs perfectly. When it comes to scaling images I find that FastStone does a far superior job and amazes me how much it prevents images from becoming blurry after reducing their size. Just look at the image below where the screenshot was scaled to nearly half its original size…all of the menus and buttons are still readable which is something that SnagIt always seemed to have troubles with.

I find that FastStone Capture has way too much to offer to be able to explain it all here. Have no fear…because all of their applications have portable versions so that you can test them out before you take the plunge and install them. With that being said they also have an Image Viewer that lets you add effects to your images as well as watch a musical slideshow (59 page tutorial available here). You also might want to checkout the Photo Resizer that’s available so that you can perform batch operations to your photos…now converting, renaming, and resizing images won’t be such a pain when you get home from your vacation and want to email the pictures to a friend!

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Android Market Logo via Google Android

The new batch of forthcoming Android tablets are all sporting the new version of Android (2.2, or Froyo). But Google says that this version of Android wasn’t optimized for tablets. This means three things for folks interested in buying an Android tablet this fall.

First: If your tablet is built to certain hardware specifications — specifically, those of an oversized smartphone — you’re good. Samsung’s much-anticipated Galaxy Tab fits the bill, as it really is just a Galaxy smartphone with a much larger screen. If you’re wondering (like I was) why the Galaxy Tab had phone-call capability and was laid out in portrait rather than landscape, there’s your answer.

Second: Functionally, the biggest hurdle is that most tablets won’t be able to use the Android Market, Google’s official store for Android apps. This actually makes sense, as not all of the apps on the market will work each tablet’s different hardware. But luckily, Android, unlike Apple’s iOS, is wide open. There are plenty of other ways to get Android apps onto your machine, including other app stores.

Third: Hugo Barra, Google’s director of mobile products, stopped just short of saying that the 3.0 and 3.5 versions of Android, also known as Gingerbread and Honeycomb (Android OS names make me hungry for breakfast cereal), would be optimized for tablets, and presumably there will either be a tablet version or tablet section of the Android Market at that time.

But he also didn’t quite say that. We can play Kremlinology all we want, and suppose that Google is sending subtly coded messages to consumers to wait for the next OS to buy an Android tablet, but it’s quite possible that Google just isn’t sure when or even if it can support a marketplace for everybody’s hardware.

This is the great and frustrating thing about having a wide-open gadget ecology for a platform. On the one hand, you’ve got a much wider variety of hardware options and price points; on the other, it’s much more difficult to provide an easy, unified consumer experience. That’s where we are with Android tablets, and where we’re likely to be next year, too.

See Also:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Will Cost Over $1000
• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
• Gadget Lab Podcast: iPods, Apple TV and Samsung's Galaxy Tab …
• Archos 101 Android Tablet: iPad Rival or Giant Phone?
• First Look: ELocity's Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player …
• LG Promises Two New Android Phones, Tablet
• Apple iOS 4 vs. Google Android 2.2: How Do They Stack Up?
• From the Game|Life Mailbox: Honeycomb Cereal

Fans of Apple displays will tell you that despite their price tag, an Apple display will net you excellent color quality and broad viewing angles. This is partially due to the fact that Apple displays (and many other manufacturer’s premium monitors) are IPS panels, as opposed to the more common TN panels on most consumer LCD displays. Now LG is getting into the mix, and has unveiled four new displays that feature IPS panels, including the new 20-inch LG IPS206T, the 21.5-inch IPS226V, and the 23-inch IPS236V and IPS231P models. Each one is LED-backlit, less than 20mm thick, and the 21.5 and 23-inch versions are capable of full HD resolution at 1920×1080 pixels. The new panels also feature 6ms response rates and near-180 degree viewing angles.

All of the new models come in glossy black with transparent trim, with the IPS231P standing out as the professional model and featuring on board speakers and a tilt/swivel stand. The new displays were unveiled at the IFA electronics event in Germany, but pricing and availability weren’t included in the announcement.

[via FlatPanelsHD]

Swiss Army Cybertool Lite, from Victorinox

Today, there are many all-in-one tools, but only one of them is a near-universal metaphor for versatility. And it isn’t Leatherman. In the imagination, Swiss Army Knives and their 126-year history stand alone.

Steven Regengold, who blogs as The Gear Junkie, went to Ibach and Delemont, the two Swiss towns which still manufacture every Swiss Army tool for Victorinox and Wenger S.A., for an historical tour. It’s a great read; here are just a few highlights:

• The first knife was indeed made for Swiss soldiers in 1884, who needed a foldable knife that could both open food cans and disassemble a rifle;
• The descendents of Victorinox’s founder Karl Eisener own both Victorinox and Wenger S.A., which co-own the “Swiss Army Knife” copyright;
• The two-company model might be explained by the fact that Victorinox is German-speaking and Wenger is French-speaking (this goes against all expectations one might have based on the spelling of the two company names, but is very Swiss);
• “In 2006, Wenger introduced the Giant, a gargantuan, nine-inch-wide “pocket knife” with 85 implements that sells as a collector’s item for $1,400″;
• The hidden springs that let each knife/screwdriver/tool gently come forward and snap back were an innovation of the original model over 100 years ago.

Story via Gizmodo.

See Also:

• Polaroid Archives Provide Snapshot of History
• Browse the Artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker's Library
• History's Greatest Gadgets
• Victorinox Presentation Master Swiss Army Knife
• Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 500 Chrono
• Victorinox Swiss Army Fragrance
• June 12, 1897: The Swiss Army Gets Its Own Knife
• Swiss Army Knives, Rebooted

The new Zotac Zbox series may just change the minds of those who have never been fans of home theater PCs.